A SUPER-SIZED game of cat and mouse ended with a wild jaguar catching a capybara - the world's largest rodent.
British wildlife photographer Nick Garbutt, 46, from Cumbria captured the rare moment on camera when he visited Brazilian wetlands in northern Pantanal, last month.
Nick watched as the big cats stalked the huge rodents - weighing to to a whopping 140lb (65kg) - as they splashed around in the rivers and marshes of the vast region.
Pictures show how they silently tracked the capybara's as the rodents swam nearby.
Other images show how the jaguars are more than willing to get their paws wet as they navigate their watery territories. One even swam past Nick's boat.
Eventually he spotted one male catching one and got these never-before-seen pictures.
He said: "To see a wild jaguar with prey in the wild is extremely rare.
"Photography studies have been done where the cats have been placed in huge enclosures inside their natural territories so that they can be filmed or pictured. But this was a wild, free-roaming jaguar and it felt very special to see something just as nature intended."
Nick watched in amazement as the cat settled down devour it's huge catch before dragging it into the bush.
Jaguars are the world's third biggest cat after the tiger and lion and the biggest in the Western hemisphere.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List currently lists the species as 'near threatened' with the population in decline.
Rubrik |
animal.press / Natur-und Pet Archiv / Wildlife Südamerika / Weitere |
Dok. Autor |
(c) animal-press |
Dokument ID |
80493 |
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27KB , DOC |
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